The Rhythm Of The Dance
by BlackRoseRaven
Summary: Cadence has a secret, knows there's something else she'd really prefer doing in life. But after Shining Armor is kidnapped in broad daylight, she knows she has no other choice but to use these skills to get him back. Written thanks to suggestions I received on FIMFiction.


The Rhythm Of The Dance

~BlackRoseRaven

The winged unicorn smiled softly, gazing out over the field with strange longing in her gentle amaranthine eyes: her wings, covered in pale-pink feathers the same color as her gorgeous coat fluttered a little now and then as she brought her hooves up to rest them on the railing of the balcony that overlooked the fields far below, golden shoes that adorned them clinking as her swirled pink, cream and violet mane swayed a little.

The gemmed tiara that rested on her head fell forwards a bit and tinked quietly against her tall horn, and she gave a little sigh before reaching up and quickly pushing it back, not taking her eyes off what was happening in the field below. A white unicorn stallion dressed in purple, heavy armor was shouting orders as he ran drills with soldiers in golden mail, the commander's voice so strong that even from here the winged unicorn could almost make out the words.

"Watching your husband again, Cadence?" asked a soft voice, and the soft pink pony blushed a bit and hurriedly straightened, coughing and clearing her throat as she awkwardly stood as straight as possible. Then she looked lamely up when her tiara fell askew again, as a much-larger, ivory-coated winged unicorn stepped out onto the balcony beside her with a soft smile, her amethyst eyes gentle, and her mane flowing with a multitude of soft colors.

"Princess Celestia, I...well... yes." Cadence admitted after a moment, but when Celestia only smiled softly at her, the soft pink pony relaxed a little and smiled back, saying quietly: "I guess I'm just still not used to any of this, that's all."

"It's alright, Cadence... to tell you the truth, it took me a while to get used to ruling Equestria as well." Celestia replied gently, then the much-larger mare hesitated for a moment before reaching up and adjusting Cadence's tiara, making the soft pink pony smile lamely. "Besides, you've had a lot to get used to. But ever we found you, I knew you had an important role to play here..."

"Yes, but... what is it?" Cadence almost pleaded, turning her eyes up to Celestia: Celestia, who wore her own diadem and peytral so naturally, who was regal and strong and respectable, who had all the natural poise and grace required to be a ruler of Equestria. "Princess Celestia, you told me I was found when I was just a foal, wandering the wasteland. I was brought before you, and... you told me that... I had a great destiny, but... I don't... I still don't understand why I was made a princess. Even where I come from, or how I fit in with yourself and Princess Luna, even if..."

She glanced over her shoulder, spreading her wings slowly and flapping them once, and then she smiled faintly as they closed and her eyes settled on her cutie mark: a crystalline heart, with golden ribbon stretching out from either side. Nothing so great and glorious as the crest of the sun that was Celestia's cutie mark... "You and Princess Luna mean so much more to Equestria than I do. Do so much more for Equestria, too..."

"I don't know about that, Cadence... love is very powerful." Celestia replied softly, and Cadence shifted and smiled a little before the ivory mare turned gentle eyes to her. "And do I have to remind you that you and Shining Armor were instrumental in putting a halt to King Sombra? Or that it was your love for him that not only broke the spell over your husband, but defeated Queen Chrysalis and her Changeling swarm?"

Cadence only dropped her head, then she blushed when Celestia touched her under the chin, guiding her eyes back up with a smile. "And I remember you were Twilight Sparkle's foal-sitter as well. You were looking after Twilight even before I was... I think our destinies are all intertwined, Cadence. Besides, it's not so bad, is it?"

"It's... it's not that, Princess Celestia, I don't want to sound like I'm complaining..." Cadence turned away, gazing quietly down into the training fields below to watch the military drills continue before she sighed a little. "And don't get me wrong, I do like being involved, and serving Equestria as best I can. I just think... sometimes... maybe... I could do more, if... well..."

She looked over her shoulder awkwardly, but Celestia only gave a small smile and shook her head slowly, replying with a hint of entertainment: "Now I understand what's bothering you, Cadence... but haven't we discussed this several times before? And every time..."

"I know, I know, and... you're wise, Celestia, and you're charming and you can always get me to see things from your point of view but..." Cadence halted, then smiled a little, closing her eyes as she murmured: "The heart wants what the heart wants."

Celestia studied the gentle pink pony for a few moments, and then she nodded slowly before saying softly: "And that's why I'm not going to say anything this time, Cadence. I know that I can't change your mind... all I can do is ask you to look at what's around you, and how much you've helped Equestria in your new role. Look at all the good things you've done, and the projects you've helped my sister and I complete. Equestria is a better place because of your help, Princess Cadence."

The soft pink pony nodded hesitantly, even as she almost hid behind her swirled mane with the faint blush that rose in her cheeks, and then Celestia reached out and touched her shoulder gently. "You're doing good here, Cadence. You fit in well with myself and my sister. Take tonight to think, and we'll meet tomorrow with the Royal Court to finish discussing those resolutions."

Cadence nodded a little, giving a faint smile to Celestia, and the ivory mare smiled back before she turned calmly and left the soft pink pony alone on the balcony. But all the same, Cadence still felt like Celestia's presence was still here as she leaned over the railing and gazed longingly down into the field below, watching as the soldiers continued their exercises beneath the warmth of the sun.

After a few minutes, the rose-colored mare finally pulled herself away from the railing, adjusted all the pretty things she was wearing, then took a short breath before raising her head and gracefully striding back into Canterlot Castle. She smiled kindly at the ponies who bowed or greeted her, reminding herself again and again of all the things she had been taught about Canterlot etiquette: poise, dignity, grace, and respect.

She had great role models: Celestia and Luna were both calm and cultured and courteous. They had been brought up in their roles, from what Cadence knew, while she had... well, she had never really imagined that one day she would be here, a princess in Canterlot. And her wings again gave the slightest flutter even as she continued slowly on her way through the halls towards her private quarters, feeling as always that it had something to do with... what she was, more than _who _she was.

Sure, she couldn't deny that she liked it, that she saw the value in it: her decisions alongside Celestia and Luna affected the entire nation, and they had the most wonderful parties, and she had all kinds of friends and admirers. Getting pretty clothes and good food and anything else she desired was now as easy as raising her hoof or ringing a bell... well... almost anything.

Cadence's wings fluttered again as she gave a small smile: Celestia, who had done most of her mentoring, had been very firm there were certain things she wasn't supposed to do anymore... at least, not in the public eye. Cadence had her guilty pleasures, though, and she knew she was lucky that Shining Armor was happy to either indulge her or turn a blind eye to her more... eccentric eccentricities.

And happy as being a princess – _the dream of almost every little filly!_ – made her... all the times she'd felt happiest, she'd felt the most worthwhile, hadn't been while attending banquets, or drafting laws, or overseeing Canterlot for a few hours. It had been when she had been taking action, like when she and Twilight Sparkle had climbed up out of the abandoned mines to stop Chrysalis, or when she and Shining Armor had gone to the Crystal Kingdom to stop the evil King Sombra.

Her wings fluttered a bit once more, and Cadence fidgeted in midstep before furling them tight at her sides, even as almost-longing twisted through her mind: it was strange, how... how she reflected on those memories with such... _happiness_. The experiences had been awful: being deceived, humiliated, and thrown into a dark void, fighting her way out to find Shining Armor almost lost to Chrysalis' enchantments... and almost as bad, the pain of forcing herself to sustain her magic for days and days to save ponies who were complete strangers, under what had seemed like purposefully-vague orders from Celestia. Not that she or Shining Armor had questioned her: Princess Celestia always knew what she was doing, she had learned... or at least, she made herself believe.

Not that she ever doubted Celestia, quite the opposite: she adored her, looked up to her, saw her as a mentor. And yet in the back of her mind something chewed at her, because Celestia was so... so determined to shape Cadence into... well... what she was well on her way to being. A princess.

Cadence dropped her head a bit as she began to make her way through a wide, empty foyer, no longer really paying attention to where she was going as she found herself lost in thought... and then a voice called to her, waking her up from the near trance she had fallen into: "Princess Cadence! Shouldn't you have an escort?"

The coral winged unicorn looked up with a smile despite herself as the large ivory stallion strode towards her with a grin, a bit of his rugged blue mane visible beneath his purple helm. His armor gleamed, still looking polished and pristine despite the drills he had been running alongside his soldiers. And after a moment, Cadence rose her head high, then replied primly: "Are you offering, Captain Shining Armor? Don't you have other duties to attend to?"

"Well, the safety of the princesses is the top concern of the Royal Guard of Equestria. After all, Princess Cadence, who knows what terrible evil might lurk just around the corner? There might be terrifying cobwebs, or a vicious spider, or maybe an uneven floor tile you could chip a hoof on." Shining Armor replied seriously, and Cadence did her best to withhold a smile as the stallion took another step towards her, closing the distance between them as he leaned in with a teasing wink. "I know how badly you require my protection, after all."

"Oh yes, save me, save me, Shining Armor. I heard there was a mass of dust bunnies gathering for an attack, I could be completely overwhelmed and the whole country would just fall to pieces without me." Cadence replied just as solemnly, sitting back and waving her front hooves back and forth, and then the two ponies looked at each other for a few moments before they both laughed, the stallion stepping forwards to embrace her tightly as Cadence wrapped her own forelegs firmly around his neck, burying her face against him and smelling polish, and sweat, and a faint hint of lavender. "You used my shampoo again."

"I like your shampoo." Shining Armor sat back, the two ponies looking at each other fondly before he reached up and pulled his helm off, grinning as he tossed his gleaming, multi-tone blue mane. "Besides, as I recall, it was my mane that got your attention in the first place, wasn't it?"

"Yes, because I thought you were the bulkiest mare I'd ever seen with those gorgeous flowing locks of yours, Shine." Cadence replied easily, and Shining Armor hid his smile behind a flat look before the mare reached up and carefully brushed back his hair, gazing into his dark blue eyes affectionately.

He looked back, then softened a little bit, studying her before he asked softly: "Hey, are you okay? You look like you've been thinking a lot..."

"I... was. I was just watching you running drills again, and... well..." Cadence shook her head, then she glanced up and smiled, waving a hoof to dismiss her own thoughts even as Shining Armor looked at her with a little more worry. "It's not important. Besides, Princess Celestia gave me the night off... hey, I know, why don't I make us a nice dinner at home tonight? I'll make your favorite, and we can just... be with each other."

"I'm on duty until late tonight, Cadence, I don't want you to have to wait for me..." Shining Armor began... but then he smiled a little when the winged unicorn reached up and touched his shoulder gently, the stallion giving a sigh before he shook his head and closed his eyes, murmuring: "You spoil me, you know that? You're way too good to me."

"Well, I have to be. You're Twilight's big brother, and I've always liked her." Cadence replied with a smile, and Shining Armor rolled his eyes before he punched her shoulder lightly. She punched him gently back, then smiled again and said softly: "And I kind of like you too."

"I know. I'm the luckiest stallion in the world because of that." Shining Armor leaned forwards, and Cadence closed her eyes, meeting him in a gentle kiss that lasted for a few moments before the two pulled apart, both with eyes only for each other before the stallion chuckled and slipped his helm back on. "But I'd better get back to work. I have to report to one of the Generals and give an assessment of the new recruits, and then do a patrol of Canterlot."

"There've been lots of patrols lately... do you know why Celestia's scheduled so many?" Cadence asked curiously, and when Shining Armor gave her an amused look, the rose-colored mare looked back pleadingly. "Shine, come on, I'm your wife! And I'm also a princess! Don't make me order you to tell me!"

"Cadence, we've been over this. We both have our jobs, and I have to..." He winced as Cadence leaned forwards, giving him her best puppy eyes, and the unicorn did his best to look away as he reached up and covered his face, saying hurriedly: "Oh come on, don't give me that look, you know I hate it when you do that!"

"Please?" Cadence drew out the word, leaning forwards, arching her back as she looked up at him, and Shining Armor huffed behind his hooves before the winged unicorn grumbled and sat back, pouting a little. "Oh fine, then don't tell me. I'll just march over to the General and ask him."

"Oh don't do that, please don't do that. The guys laugh at me enough as it is after that one time you... no, I don't even want to talk about it." Shining Armor dropped his hooves, sighing and looking down at her flatly as Cadence looked back up pointedly, then he hesitantly nodded. "Can you at least wait until tonight, though? It's nothing important, I promise... you know if... if it was something important, I'd always tell you. You're my wife, and the love of my life, before you're a princess or anything else, and... you come first."

He reached up, taking one of her hooves gently, and Cadence softened as she straightened, smiling across at him quietly as she murmured: "I know, Shine. And you're my husband and the stallion I want to wake up beside every day for the rest of my life. Even if..."

"Now, hey, no getting serious again. We've talked about that." Shining Armor chided gently, and Cadence nodded as she looked up, forcing away the worries that always rose in the back of her mind. "I really need to get going, though, or the General's going to turn me inside-out. I won't be home until around ten tonight, but... I'll be looking forwards to that dinner,, and I don't have to get up early tomorrow."

"Then I'll take that as a promise, Captain." Cadence replied softly, and Shining Armor smiled back at her before they traded another quick kiss, and then the winged unicorn said gently: "I love you."

"I love you too, Cadence." Shining Armor smiled at her beneath his helm, then he turned and strode quickly towards the nearest set of doors. Cadence watched him go with longing in her eyes... not just for the stallion himself, but... but something else, too, as she closed her eyes and sat for a moment in the otherwise empty foyer, the lingering smell of polish still hovering around her.

Cadence shook her head out, then carefully adjusted her peytral and her tiara before nodding firmly once to herself... and sighing tiredly when the movement made the tiara fall out of place again. She grumbled, once more fixed it, then rose her head and turned around, deciding that it would probably be best for now for her to go home and settle down.

* * *

Shining Armor smiled to himself as he strode slowly beneath the mid-morning sun through the streets of Canterlot, rolling his head on his shoulders before yawning loudly, and one of the Royal Guards asked mildly: "Long night, sir?"

"Hey, eyes front. But... yes, it was." Shining Armor replied after a moment, smiling as he turned his attention ahead, and the four armored soldiers that made up the patrol all gave him looks that varied between amusement and envy. "Anyway, it's almost time to head back. Anyone see anything out of the ordinary?"

The soldiers all answered in the negative, and Shining Armor nodded a bit as he looked back and forth, smiling again: this was the Canterlot, the Equestria, he loved and sought to protect. Clean streets kept safe by good ponies... not just him and his soldiers, but ponies like his sister and her friends, and the decent people that made up most of the city... hell, most of the country.

Yes, they had their problems, still, and sometimes there were concerns... but Princess Celestia was always quick to respond these days, and wouldn't simply stand by and let anyone threaten her country. Even if they had been getting reports of rising crime, and strangely-dressed ponies, even if the patrols had been almost doubled over the last few weeks... Shining Armor still saw mostly good things around him. Saw peace, and prosperity, and happiness.

Maybe that was why he was so unprepared for what happened next.

One moment they were walking down the clean, cobbled streets, and the only ponies they saw were pleasant people, going about their morning errands or out for a walk: next, Shining Armor felt an alarm blare in his mind, and when he looked up, he realized too late there were suddenly two cloaked ponies on either side of the patrol, boxing them in, moving as calmly and silently as if they had always been there.

Shining Armor stumbled over his own hooves, even as behind him, one of his soldiers laughed, none of them seeming aware of what was going on... and just as the Captain of the Guard began to open his mouth, not knowing if he was going to shout a warning at the cloaked figures or his own troops, one of the strange ponies was suddenly beside the guard just behind the white unicorn.

The soldier began to turn, surprise on his features... and then he choked as the cloaked pony slammed a hoof into his throat before there was the singing sound of steel springing forwards, and the rending of flesh. Red splattered over the pavement, so bright it seemed surreal, as Shining Armor stumbled around in a circle and stared in shock... and the cloaked figure smoothly seized the soldier he had just attacked by the back of the neck before flinging him to the ground, the Royal Guard only staring outwards stupidly, his mouth working uselessly as he spasmed and choked on his own blood.

And then the moment of shock was gone, and Shining Armor swung his horn down and fired a bolt of magic at one of the other cloaked ponies, knocking it flying backwards as he shouted: "We're under attack!"

His soldiers immediately dropped to ready positions despite how shocked they looked, facing towards the cloaked figures... but then the one furthest from the group gargled, and Shining Armor's eyes widened in horror as he saw one of the cloaked ponies had managed to leap up behind the soldier and wrap a steel wire around his throat. The ivory unicorn began to charge forwards, but a moment later there was another cloaked figure in his way, as his other soldiers were engaged by the last.

Shining snapped his horn down, meaning to blast the cloak out of his way, but in a deft, sharp movement, the unknown pony swept his cloak off and flung it into the magic missile that fired at him. The cloak was blasted to pieces, and Shining winced as he was blinded for a moment by the flurry of burning cloth debris before a hoof smashed through the cloud and into his face, knocking him staggering backwards.

Then another two hooves smashed into his chest, and he was knocked crashing and rolling on his back with a gargle, landing sprawled out as he stared in horror at the pony that had attacked him. It was a Pegasus, dressed in lightweight, silver body armor engraved with a symbol of a bird, red bracers locked around his forelegs. "This one we keep alive. The others are unnecessary. Eliminate them."

Shining Armor snarled as he leapt to his hooves, running forwards, and the Pegasus only looked at him coldly before springing forwards at the last moment: but as his front hoof swung out, Shining dropped low, and the blow sailed high over his skull before he slashed his horn against the chest of the Pegasus, denting his armor and knocking the Pegasus backwards with a grunt of surprise.

The unicorn tackled forwards as the Pegasus stumbled, knocking him onto his back before he swung a hoof savagely down into his face and stunned him. Then Shining looked up and snapped his horn outwards, firing a blast of energy into one of the still-cloaked ponies that had pinned one of his surviving soldiers.

He was knocked flying, before Shining shouted a denial when the other cloaked figure simply snapped the neck of the soldier he had managed to pin down. The unicorn began to lunge forwards, but a moment later, something hit the ground in front of him before exploding in a tremendous blast of light and sound... and for Shining Armor, agony as well, as arcs of energy sizzled over his horn and his vision went blurry, his thoughts went static.

A hoof smashed into him from... he couldn't even tell where, the pain in his head was too great as he collapsed to the ground, and then he felt another hoof seize his mane, yanking his head back before a voice said coldly: "No. We need him alive. Follow your orders."

For a moment, there was nothing, and Shining Armor gritted his teeth as he tensed his body, readying himself to spring to his hooves... but before he could, the hoof on his scalp shoved his head viciously down into the street, and everything went black.

* * *

Princess Cadence didn't know what to do, or say, or even think: all she could do was pace back and forth, trembling and trying her hardest to rein in her emotions as soldiers and officers and officials all scurried around the large meeting room. Every now and then, she felt their eyes on her, and for some reason their sympathy just made her more scared and more hurt.

Shining Armor's patrol had been attacked and wiped out – and in broad daylight, on a busy street, no less – by ponies that had been identified as members of the Phoenix Guild. A semi-legal secret society that existed in Canterlot, of warriors, hunters, and mercenaries. But never before had they done anything like this, even if they were suspected of being involved in plenty of unsavory activities around the country.

Not only had they killed four soldiers and taken Shining Armor hostage, their boldness had gone further: a messenger from the guild had arrived at the castle only thirty minutes after the attack, while everyone had still been scrambling to understand what the hell had happened. And in a clear, cold voice, he had declared this was a demonstration to the ponies of Equestria: of the power of the Phoenix Guild, and the helplessness of the nation. That this was the first act of a new dawn that was coming: that this was the act that would wake up Equestria and force them to understand they had all become weak, and their Princesses could not protect them forever.

The messenger had announced calmly where Shining Armor was being held, and that if they wanted him returned, they had several demands they wanted met: one of the most insane was that now that the Phoenix Guild had shown their strength, they desired to be placed in charge of national defense and a new training program for the military.

Celestia had tried to buy time: in spite of the insanity she was faced with, she had said calmly and courteously that they would need time, and these things would require discussion. She had tried to bargain with the messenger, but the pony had ignored her... and there was very little Celestia could do. The messenger had made it very clear, after all, that if something happened to him... then bad things would happen to Shining Armor. So he had come, made his demands, and then simply walked back to the den of inequity he'd come from, looking down on all the ponies he passed with contempt, as if disappointed he was leaving the castle alive.

They were dealing with psychopaths, who had trained and bred other psychopaths, who idolized psychopathic traditions. The Phoenix Guild was a cult with their own rules and plans and ideals, and Celestia was still trying to figure out how to approach this situation. And time was growing short, and Cadence knew that there was a very real chance in the near future, she was going to lose her husband.

The rose-colored mare trembled and took a shuddering breath, then she looked up sharply as she heard Celestia say quietly at the meeting table: "-can't allow her to do that. Have you locked down the area?"

"As much as possible, ma'am, but... these terrorists aren't just crazy. They're dangerous. And the way they're just sitting there inside their compound... they might have a back way out, or this whole thing could be a decoy, and... I can't put my soldiers at risk, trying to send them in there. Not after what they did to that patrol." replied a grizzled unicorn, shaking his head quickly as he grimaced. His eyes flickered towards Cadence, but the pink winged unicorn dropped her gaze to the floor and pretended to be lost in thought... not too hard, with how distraught she knew she looked. "I... hate to say this... but they have to stopped, and punished. We can't let these criminals walk all over us like this. Shining Armor is a good stallion, but the nation must come first, before-"

"No!" Cadence shouted, looking up with a tremble, and the General winced as Celestia looked up sharply. Then the soft pink winged unicorn turned, shaking her head violently before she strode across the room, breathing hard as tears welled up in her eyes. "Celestia, please! I know... I know they made a ransom demand-"

"They made many demands, Cadence, and it's all too clear to me that they're not after money. They're trying to take control of Equestria." Celestia said quietly, shaking her head slowly. "They targeted Shining Armor because they knew how it would affect you. That's why they demanded you deliver ten thousand bits to their front door... so they could take you hostage. Because you are a Princess of Equestria, and through you, they expect to be able to get to me.

"I'm sorry, but... you are a princess. We have a responsibility to our nation... over ourselves, and sometimes even over the ponies we care about." Celestia shook her head slowly, and Cadence trembled, breathing harder, shivering and shaking her head weakly. "I know you love him. I know your love for him was so strong, it saved Equestria... but this time, we can't-"

"Celestia, I won't... I won't leave him to die! You can't make me leave him to die!" Cadence shouted suddenly, straightening... then cursing when her tiara fell lopsided before reaching up and flinging it off, ponies ducking as the headpiece shot across the room and hit the wall hard enough to leave a crack in the plaster. "I understand, but... my husband is my husband and I can't leave him to die, do you understand that? And... and..."

Cadence trembled, then looked up, her eyes pleading as they locked with Celestia's darker irises. "Let me... let me take the ransom. Even if they really do just... if I am walking into an ambush, please. I have to do this, and... I won't hold it against you if... you have to do something drastic afterwards. If things don't work out. But Celestia... he's my husband. I need to try and save my husband. And if I can't do that, then I need to... at least be with him."

There was silence for a few moments, and Celestia closed her eyes slowly, then nodded silently once. And Cadence smiled widely, trembling, before looking up in surprise when the ivory winged unicorn said slowly: "But this isn't the sort of thing... a princess should do."

For a few moments, Cadence looked across at Celestia... then she nodded slowly in understanding and straightened, her wings fluttering at her sides as she murmured: "Thank you."

With that, Cadence turned and hurried out of the room, and the General frowned nervously over at Celestia as the ivory mare looked calmly back at him, before he asked finally: "Princess Celestia... not to question you, but is this a good idea? Princess Cadence is-"

"She is not Princess Cadence right now, General." Celestia replied quietly, and the ivory mare smiled faintly as she closed her amethyst eyes. "Right now she's a wife, and a lover, and a mare... and going to do whatever it takes to get her husband back."

She halted, then shook her head quickly and gestured towards another pony, who looked sharply up. "Go and get the ransom ready, and bring it to Cadence's quarters. And let's hope that we can find a way inside that building and to bring down the Phoenix Guild before we lose two good ponies."

The pony saluted quickly, then turned and hurried out the door... but only a few minutes later, while Celestia was discussing possible entrance tactics with the General, the pony staggered back inside, breathing hard and looking frazzled as he held up a hoof, and then all eyes looked at him with shock as he blurted: "Princess Cadence didn't take the ransom!"

"What?" the General shouted, looking alarmed, but Celestia only closed her eyes... then gave a small, curious smile, even as the General began hurriedly: "There may still be time to catch her, let's send our fastest Pegasus out to courier the ransom to her, she must... she must be out of her wits! Maybe I can have my soldiers ahead cut her off, or-"

"No General, don't worry. But get your troops ready and tell them to keep a sharp eye on the Phoenix Guild compound." Celestia said calmly, and the General stared at her incredulously before the princess stood up and smiled, looking down at the stallion with a strangely-relaxed expression. "Some ponies are rulers. Some are lawmakers. But some ponies prefer action over words."

The General only shook his head disbelievingly, and Celestia smiled again as she thought of Cadence... Cadence, who was already striding quickly through the streets of Canterlot, heavy satchel hanging on one side of her body and a gorgeous cloak covering her frame, her diadem glinting over her head and her eyes locked straight forwards. Soldiers stared at her but didn't stop her as she headed straight for the cordoned-off zone.

She swallowed a little as two fellow Captains of the Guard looked at her incredulously, and then the rose-colored pony straightened and said firmly: "I am here to deliver the ransom demand to the Phoenix Guild. Only I am allowed to approach the building, otherwise... they'll hurt my husband. Please let me pass."

"Princess Cadence..." One of the purple-armored Captains reached up and pulled off his helm, shaking his head slowly. He was a unicorn, his mane shaved short, his coat dark red, orange eyes gleaming with sympathy. "Captain Armor wouldn't want you to go in there. You know that."

"I do. And I have to, all the same. He's my husband... and let's just forget about the formalities, Autumn, this... this isn't the time to talk rank and status right now. Besides, you were his friends." Cadence smiled faintly, as Autumn hesitantly nodded and looked at her nervously. "And you're my friends, too. And as my friends... please get out of the way. Please let me do this, and... no matter what happens, good or bad, don't move in. I'll deal with this."

"Cadence, since we're off the record right now... this is an incredibly stupid idea." remarked the other Captain, a viridian Pegasus, and Cadence smiled despite herself and nodded in agreement as she looked over at him pointedly. And then the Pegasus shrugged a bit, sighing before he glanced over at Autumn and muttered: "I really do hope Shining's okay in there. But not too okay. Not when he's lucky enough to have a mare like you for a wife, Cadence."

"I think what Evergreen is trying to say is... good luck." Autumn said mildly, and Cadence nodded again before she started forwards, then halted when the unicorn suddenly reached out and grabbed her shoulder, adding quietly: "We'll keep everyone back as long as possible."

"Thank you." Cadence smiled over at him, nodding slowly, and then she swallowed thickly and trembled before straightening and taking a slow, deep breath. Her wings fluttered a little, and then she closed her eyes tightly and recited silently: _Poise, dignity, grace, respect. Poise, dignity, grace, respect..._

Slowly, she strode past the blockade that had been set up at the end of the street, and into the wide square beyond, her eyes roving slowly over the Phoenix Guild building. It was enormous and dome shaped, likely once a cathedral, now the home of a cult of killers. Tall iron fencing surrounded it, with a single set of gates open at the front, where three armored Pegasi calmly sat as if waiting for her, unfettered by the countless eyes of soldiers that surrounded them.

Cadence swallowed thickly as she approached, then her voice cracked when she tried to speak: hurriedly, she cleared her throat, then managed out as she halted some ten feet away: "I... I am here to pay the ransom for my husband's life. Please spare him. Please..."

"Bring her inside." ordered one of the Pegasi, and the pony in the middle nodded: Cadence noted that his bracers were a different color than the others, a pale white instead of red. He listened to the others without hesitation, striding forwards, looking at her with awful coldness that was mirrored on the faces of the others, like emotion was the first thing that was stomped out of anyone who joined this cult of lunatics.

He reached for her as she shrank back a little, trembling... and then suddenly grit her teeth and slammed her head into the face of the Pegasus, sending her tiara flying from her head and him stumbling backwards as his eyes widened in shock before Cadence leapt forwards and swung a vicious uppercut up beneath the stallion's jaw. He was struck with so much force that his body was knocked limply into the air, arching almost gracefully backwards as saliva and blood flew from his mouth before he crashed down on his back in an unconscious heap.

The other members of the guild were both staring in disbelief, and Cadence gritted her teeth as her horn glowed and she yanked the clasp holding her cloak in place open, rearing back on her hind legs as she ripped the cloak free, satchel flying loose from her body as well. As the cloth flew into the air, body-fitting lightweight armor was revealed, sparkling in the sunlight like it was crying out in jubilation at finally being put to use.

Chain mesh covered her limbs and stomach, and heavier plates of white and silver were locked over her upper body and upper legs. Her wings spread wide and her body trembled with a tumult of emotions: excitement, anxiety, fear, love, and rage.

To their credit, the Pegasi recovered quickly, and one lunged forwards only moments after Cadence's satchel hit the ground with a snarl... that turned back to a look of surprise when Cadence easily caught his foreleg in one of her own before slamming her other hoof into his chest and launching herself into the air. She spun violently as she flapped her wings hard, disorienting the stallion before half-flipping and diving straight towards the ground before flinging the Pegasus forwards at the last moment.

His face collided with the hard stone of the square with a loud crunch, driven down beneath Cadence's hoof as she landed smoothly on top of him, and the last remaining Pegasus rushed at her back: but without even bothering to look, Cadence shoved herself off the ground by her front hooves, wings flapping firmly to give herself an extra boost as she kicked both rear legs out and wrapped them tightly around the Pegasus' throat.

He gargled, grabbing at her limbs before Cadence's wings twisted and flapped again, reversing her momentum and dragging the male head-over-heels in a front roll that sent him crashing down on his back as Cadence swung a hoof down viciously between his legs. She struck the stone of the square just beside the base of his tail with enough force to rupture the rock, as the soft pink pony glared over her shoulder and positioned one of her rear hooves against the stallion's throat, shouting: "Where's my husband?"

The Pegasus only stared at her, and then his eyes flicked upwards; immediately, Cadence snarled and rolled to the side, at the same time pincering the stallion with both front and hind hooves to drag him on top of her, before the stallion arched his back with a cry of pain as several bolts hammered into his body, shot by Pegasus half-concealed on the roof of the cathedral. Cadence gritted her teeth as the stallion spasmed, hooves clawing madly at her before she managed to swing all four hooves up and kick them hard into his body, launching him into the air.

The Pegasus howled as he flew on a lazy arc, and Cadence rolled backwards as she swept a hoof out, catching her satchel bag and yanking it towards her. Her horn glowed brightly, almost tearing the flap off as a variety of objects flew out of it: a white steel coronet that locked into place around her head, several small sheathed knives on a belt that snapped quickly around her body, and a pair of silver and white bracers that locked into place around her front legs.

And a moment after she had strapped her equipment on with telekinesis, the Pegasus fell out of the air and crashed down on top of her back with a gurgle, before Cadence furled her wings tightly to her sides and broke into a sprint. Bolts from crossbows peppered the ground around her and slammed into the body of the Pegasus on her back, but Cadence kept her head low, her eyes glowing with focus as she charged through the open gates and straight down the path leading to the enormous double doors of the cathedral.

Without stopping, Cadence leapt upwards and bucked her body hard, flinging the bolt-riddled corpse of the Pegasus off her back before she snapped her horn out, throwing the body as fiercely as she could with telekinesis. It struck the double doors so hard that it almost smashed them off their hinges, knocking them wide open as Cadence charged straight into the enormous, open room beyond as members of the Phoenix Guild – mostly Pegasi – all looked up in shock. "I'm here for my husband!"

There were at least eight other ponies in the wide room, which was empty except for the racks of candles along the wall, a few benches that had been shoved aside... and near a niche at the back where the altar had likely once stood, Shining Armor was tied back in a chair, the stallion looking at her incredulously. Beside him was a unicorn wearing black bracers and heavy armor, a sword sheathed on his back, and this apparent-leader was the first of the stunned Guild to recover before he shouted: "Bring her down!"

Cadence charged inside, her teeth grit, her mind burning: she didn't remember anything before being brought as a foal before Celestia, emaciated and dusty and beaten... but somehow, her mind and body knew this art better than these killers did. She had always had this part of herself, that Celestia had told her must be locked away, must be kept secret, must be kept safe... but now...

A Pegasus lunged at her, and without slowing, Cadence slammed an elbow into his throat before leaping upwards and gracefully flipping sideways to dodge a low tackle from another cultist. Her hoof swung down as her wings flapped and she caught herself in midair, and she seized the back of the head of stunned Pegasus before flinging him into another charging pony.

They crashed together and both fell over as Cadence launched herself higher into the air, looking sharply up even as several Pegasi flew quickly after her: her eyes were already locked on the chandelier above, made of one enormous, heavy iron ring suspended by chains, and the winged unicorn shot through the center of this and rammed into the inside of the ring, grunting with effort and flapping her wings hard to force it to swing through the air.

The chains creaked loudly as the rings swayed upwards... and then Cadence spun herself smoothly to the outside of the ring and slammed a hard double-kick of her rear hooves into it, knocking the heavy iron ring swinging backwards. It smashed into two of the Pegasi that had taken into the air after her, knocking them plummeting from the skies as the others cursed, before the ancient chains groaned and one of the metal links snapped loudly.

Cadence didn't even look back as she shot back towards the ground, however, forcing herself to ignore even the scream of metal and the rumbling that tore through the ceiling: instead, she streamlined her body, diving straight at the unicorn even as his horn glowed with telekinesis and his sword was yanked free from the sheath on his back-

Then the unicorn grunted in surprise as Shining Armor flung himself to the side with a grunt, and the chair he was in overbalanced and smacked painfully into his captor, knocking him stumbling. The unicorn cursed, snarling towards Shining Armor as his sword raised high... and then Cadence smashed headlong into him and knocked him flying bonelessly through the air, crashing into the wall opposite and slamming his head against the stone hard enough to leave a distinct red blotch.

His sword was flung into the air as the unicorn lost his telekinetic grip on it, but a moment later Cadence caught it in her own and swung it down deftly, slicing through the ropes binding Shining Armor to the chair. The white stallion gasped in relief, dragging himself up to his hooves as he opened his mouth... and then he was cut off by a tremendous crash as the as the chandelier smashed down to the floor behind them, sending up a blast of dust and stumbling several Phoenix Guild members as one or two unfortunates were crushed.

Shining Armor winced as he hauled himself to his hooves, tossing his bloodstained mane, flexing his bare body: he was bruised and beaten and they had stripped his armor, but the stallion was grinning all the same as he looked over at Cadence, saying wryly: "They're never going to let me live this down, honey."

"We can worry about that later." Cadence smiled despite herself, and then she turned her eyes back through the cathedral as the dust from the chandelier's collapse began to settle and more Pegasi from the Phoenix Guild shot in through the smashed-open doors. And she could hear noises as several doors around the room were silently opened and more tried to slip in unnoticed, breathing slowly before she held the sword up in front of him. "Are you okay enough to fight?"

"More than okay." Shining Armor readied himself, taking the sword Cadence offered in his own telekinetic grip and swinging it sharply back and forth before he gritted his teeth and rose his head proudly. Cadence smiled warmly even as her eyes remained on the regrouping enemies, and then the stallion cracked his neck and bared his teeth. "Let's show 'em what we're made of, Cadence!"

The rose-colored winged unicorn only gave an entertained shake of her head... then she suddenly turned and smashed a hoof into the face of an assassin that had been attempting to slip in beside her, knocking the Pegasus sprawling before she pounced on top of him and smashed the back of his head into the ground, knocking him out. And like it was a signal, the more than a dozen enemies in the room began to converge on them, as Cadence shouted: "Just be careful, honey! I don't want to have to rescue you again!"

"They ambushed me!" Shining Armor retorted, even as his horn glowed and he created a barrier of blue in the air above, several bolts fired by Pegasi with crossbows bouncing off this. Then the stallion gritted his teeth and flicked his head to the side as another Pegasus charged in, only to have most of the teeth knocked out of his mouth by a strike from the pommel of the sword, before Shining Armor followed up with a blast of telekinetic force that knocked the Pegasus hurtling across the room and into another guild member.

Cadence didn't reply as two more Pegasi leapt towards her, both wearing bracers with long, deadly blades that curved out of them, swinging viciously towards her before the winged unicorn glanced over her shoulder at the wall they were driving her towards. One leapt forwards, trying to catch her off guard, but Cadence launched herself into the air and flipped smoothly backwards before all four hooves struck into the wall, the winged unicorn flexing for a moment before diving forwards.

She smashed directly into the Pegasus that had lunged at her, slamming him to the ground before she rolled forwards, hauling the stunned pony with her and flinging him firmly into the face of the second attacker. Then, without missing a beat, the rose-colored winged unicorn leapt into the air and yanked two knives free from where they were sheathed on her body, catching them with telekinesis.

She snapped her horn forwards, and both knives shot through the air and into the chest of a Pegasus with a crossbow. He was knocked from the sky with a howl of agony, and Cadence flapped her wings hard, flying up into the air as several Pegasi leapt up after her and the other crossbow-wielding ponies quickly turned their attention on winged unicorn.

Shining Armor, meanwhile, slashed his sword back and forth, parrying and blocking every attack from the two ponies in front of him: one had a dagger, the other a set of those vicious bladed bracers. Then the unicorn winced when a third Pegasus leapt up from behind the two fighting the unicorn to fling a spherical object at him, but the unicorn hurriedly batted it away with the flat of his sword as he leapt backwards.

The ball struck the face of one of the Pegasi in front of him and exploded in a flash of light and sound, and Shining Armor winced in pain as he felt the same anti-magic pulse that had robbed him of his strength before rip along his horn. This time, however, he had managed to avoid the worst of the blast... while the Pegasus that had been hit directly was screaming in pain, his knife dropped and hooves covering his face, blinded by the flash and deafened by the sound.

The pony with the bladed bracers leapt forwards... and this time Shining Armor didn't dodge, instead swinging the sword outwards as hard as he could to smash into the Pegasus' own weapons and knock him sprawling backwards with a curse of surprise. But the third Pegasus that had joined the fray immediately leapt over his fallen compatriot... except Shining Armor quickly ended his involvement by catching him by the head and slamming him face-first out of the air and into the ground.

Then he cursed in surprise at a familiar cry of pain, looking up in time to see Cadence stumble away from a Pegasus that had managed to catch her with a springblade. The winged unicorn grasped at her bloodied shoulder as the Pegasus glared across at her, then lunged as he swung his hoof forwards, the spring-blade again popping out of its bracer like a striking cobra... but this time, Cadence swung a hoof up and struck the Pegasus' foreleg in midswing, knocking him back before she leapt forwards and slammed a headbutt into his face that knocked him out.

And without glancing around, Cadence grabbed the unconscious pony in front of her by the forelegs before half-spinning and flinging him straight behind her, knocking another pony that had been charging at her flat. Then she leapt back into the air and yanked another knife free from her belt, throwing it upwards and flicking her horn to launch it through the wing of a Pegasus with a crossbow.

The Pegasus cried out in pain as he was knocked out of the air, falling... and crashing loudly on top of another pony that was just getting to its hooves, knocking them both out. Then Cadence winced when a bolt shot by and narrowly scraped over her armor, before she gritted her teeth and shot towards the Pegasus that was now fumbling hurriedly to reload his weapon.

Shining Armor, meanwhile, smashed the flat of his sword across the face of a pony before he kicked both rear hooves out into the features of another. The assassin behind him dropped to the ground in a drooling heap as the guild member in front of him staggered, and the stallion leapt forwards to seize the enemy by the shoulders before slamming a fierce headbutt into the Pegasus, cracking his skull and knocking him limp.

The unicorn staggered backwards with a wheeze, sword still floating at the ready beside him before he smiled despite himself at the sight of Cadence seizing a Pegasus, spinning violently with him, and then simply flinging him down into the fallen chandelier. The Pegasus bounced off with a distinct clanging sound, then flopped to the broken floor around the enormous, fallen iron ring, but even as he twitched weakly he showed no sign of getting up.

Slowly, the bruised ivory stallion surveyed the bedlam they had caused, whistling a little as he let the sword floating beside him sink to a rest position. The bodies of fallen Pegasi lay everywhere, with one or two unicorns mixed in the bunch, and Shining Armor smiled a bit as he looked up and watched Cadence calmly touch down in front of him.

She was smiling warmly, and Shining Armor chuckled quietly before he said softly: "You know, Celestia's going to be really mad. I don't think even Twilight knows about this side of you, Cadence."

"It's... it's not a side of me. It's just... something I know how to do." Cadence shifted embarrassedly, pawing a hoof at the ground before she softened and looked up, studying her husband quietly. He looked back at her, then they both leaned forwards and traded an embrace and a soft nuzzle, the mare murmuring: "I was so worried about you."

"I know. I'm sorry. I've been thinking of all the excuses I want to say, all the reasons I want to make, for what happened, but I won't waste your time, Cadence. And... we're not done here yet, are we?" Shining Armor smiled a bit, and Cadence tilted her head curiously before the ivory unicorn glanced over his shoulder and gestured towards a recessed, sliding stone panel in the floor. "There's a door there that leads down... I dunno where. But a bunch of these weirdos were saying that their boss is somewhere in there. The guy who ordered all this... and I heard them saying that he was never after anything except for us."

"What?" Cadence reared back in surprise, and then she frowned deeply as the stallion looked at her and nodded calmly. And for a few moments, there was silence, before Cadence said finally: "And... you... really want to go and find this guy, Shine? We can just walk out of here!"

"I... I know, Cadence, but... look at this!" Shining Armor gestured around at the room, filled with wreckage and fallen bodies. "I don't want this to happen again, and Cadence... I... okay, I'll tell you what. I'll go on ahead and you-"

Cadence slowly scowled at him, and the white unicorn stuttered to a halt before he finished awkwardly: "What... I mean is... I'll go first, and... you follow after me, honey. Just..." Shining Armor stopped, then softened. "Cadence, you're a princess. I'm a soldier. I'm the one who signed up for this. You need to promise me you'll get to safety if..."

"No. Right now we're not soldier and princess, Shine. And you know what? We never are, between us." Cadence said firmly, shaking her head quickly before she closed her eyes and murmured: "I don't even know my past. Let's not lie, Shining Armor, I was made a princess because I'm an alicorn. But none of that is important right now. None of that should ever be important between us. You're my husband and I'm your wife, and we're going to do this together."

Cadence stopped, then smiled a little as Shining nodded awkwardly, looking a bit abashed. "I'm beside you. And you're beside me, right?"

"Right." Shining Armor replied softly, and then he turned around and shook his head out, and the two strode calmly over to the sliding panel as he added softly: "But you were made a princess for a lot of reasons, Cadence. Don't ever doubt that or worry about that. You've done wonderful things for the country."

"But maybe right now I can do something more than just sit and follow along with Celestia and Luna, Shine." Cadence smiled over at him, and the stallion nodded firmly in response to her before they both looked forwards and faced the recessed stone panel. "Let's finish this."

The two leaned down, horns glowing brightly as they both seized the stone panel, and it shuddered violently before slowly, painfully pulling open, dust hailing down in a stream and several cracks spreading through the rock as the thick panel slid to the side. The two were only able to force it halfway before the panel nearly shattered and something else loudly gave way, but it left more than enough space for them both to step carefully down onto the stone stairs beyond.

Shining Armor took the lead, horn glowing brightly and sword raised as he looked back and forth slowly, and Cadence shivered a bit as a strange – and worse, somehow familiar – sensation rolled through her stomach. The bottom of the mossy steps led them into a dank, empty stone room that had likely once been a crypt.

There were several passages leading out of this room, but only the hall straight ahead of them was lit by flickering torches, and the two ponies traded looks before they both nodded firmly and strode ahead, the stallion still maintaining a short lead as Cadence rolled her shoulders, then shivered again.

She felt... afraid. Not in the way she had been before: that had been fear for Shining Armor more than anything else. Now it was like something else kept nipping at her senses, as they stepped slowly out of the dark corridor and into an octagonal room that was lit by much larger lanterns. And as Cadence looked back and forth, her mind suddenly froze when she looked at the enormous set of double doors at the back of the room, guarded by two metallic statues of snarling pony-monsters on a short landing at the top of a set of steps.

Shining Armor started towards this, and Cadence reached up and caught him, the stallion looking over his shoulder at her in surprise as the winged unicorn breathed hard in and out. Something was here. Something that was her antithesis, something that hated her... something that maybe had to do with her past, she didn't know. Something of wastelands and loneliness and death...

Then there was a loud clang from behind them, and both ponies leapt forwards as a heavy metallic gate fell into place over the tunnel, locking them in. Cadence gritted her teeth and Shining Armor looked quickly towards the doors, opening his mouth... before an awful, echoing scream ripped out of one of the metal statues, and was shortly imitated by the second as they both began to vibrate.

Chunks of metal hailed down as clanging and banging and awful noise filled the air, mixed with what sounded like horrible, clucking laughter before both steel constructs all but exploded, revealing a pair of hideous, blackened and charred ponies. They both posed with their forelegs raised high, their heads thrown back as debris and shattered metal hailed down around them, and Cadence felt a flash in her mind as she realized those hadn't been statutes: they had been iron maidens, torture cages.

Then both of the awful things that had been sealed inside them slumped and faced forwards, lipless mouths twisted into permanent broken grins. Their teeth were sharp, they had no manes or tails, and the only places where their coats and flesh hadn't been burnt black was where white scar tissue covered their bodies. And horribly, Cadence realized they mirrored each other: on one, almost the entire right side of the creature's body was covered in ancient wounds and white scar tissue and horrible mutilations, while the other was the opposite.

They rasped for air, breath rushing in and out of their gangly, emaciated frames. Their eyes were sunken and had no soul, only hatred. And the only differences between them were that one had likely once been a unicorn, but its horn had been shattered near the base and left useless, while the other had the stumps of wings twitching weakly on its back.

Then they both jerkily stood and stepped out onto the stairs, giving what sounded like a strange, clucking laugh, before one whispered eagerly: "_Meht llik s'tel, gnilbis_."

"_G__nilbis, meht llik s'tel_." the other seemed to agree, and then both of the creatures halted and gave their broken, clucking laugh, heads and bodies twitching violently as they did so as Cadence shivered and staggered backwards in horror, and Shining Armor shook his head weakly, then gritted his teeth and anchored himself, raising his sword in front of him.

"Stay back!" he shouted, but it only drew the eyes of both monsters to him, and the stallion winced a bit before Cadence stepped up beside him, swallowing back her fear as he asked sharply: "Left or Right?"

"Left!" Cadence said immediately, and then she lunged forwards, fear making her aggressive as she gritted her teeth... and stared in horror as the once-unicorn monster that had the left side of its body covered in awful scars and wounds seemed to simply appear in front of her before a hoof smashed her into the air, and a second punch knocked her flying across the room to bounce painfully off the wall and fall flat on her stomach with a cry of pain.

Shining Armor made the mistake of looking away, shouting his wife's name... and then Right was in front of him, seizing the unicorn by the face and slamming him down into the ground before yanking him up and biting savagely at the unicorn's throat. But the ivory pony managed to swing his sword up on luck more than anything else, and the monster bit only the sword before Shining Armor swung it hard outwards, knocking the monstrosity staggering and ripping an ugly wound through its features.

Yet the monster barely seemed to notice, and the sword didn't do nearly as much damage against the rubbery, blackened flesh as Shining had expected it to, the stallion cursing as he leapt forwards aggressively and slashed the blade down across the beast's breast... and the wound was bloodless, going almost unnoticed as Shining Armor was almost-disdainfully slapped backwards as the monster laughed.

Left, meanwhile, was twitching and gurgling as it approached Cadence, as the winged unicorn carefully picked herself up, breathing slowly... and then she gritted her teeth when the monster lunged at her before she flung herself into the air. But Left was freakishly agile, his burst of speed carrying him to the wall before he leapt upwards and kicked off it, twisting around to tackle Cadence out of the air and slam her back down to the cold ground.

She cried out in agony, then barely managed to yank her head out of the way when the beast snapped at her, the creature instead getting a mouthful of her mane. It hurt like hell when it tore back and ripped and frayed her locks, and Cadence snarled as she slammed a double-kick hard into Left's stomach, knocking the monstrosity flying backwards into the wall.

It bounced off, seeming stunned for a moment as the winged unicorn rolled backwards, reaching back and yanking her remaining knives free from her belt and tossing them into the air one after the other to send each shooting forwards with sharp telekinetic lashes. One, two, three knives sank home into Left's chest as it twitched with every impact, falling back on its haunches for a moment... and then it simply picked itself up and strode forwards as if unaware of the projectiles buried in its body.

Cadence's eyes widened, and behind her, Shining Armor stared in horror as he found himself having the same issue: his sword was buried completely through Right's breast, the end sticking out of the monster's back, and yet the monstrosity didn't even seem to be aware of the sword as it forced slowly, steadily forwards even as Shining Armor continued to try and keep it pinned with telekinesis and the blade buried through it.

Right broke into a sprint without warning, and Shining Armor cursed as he felt recoil hammer along his horn, then he looked up too late as the creature zigzagged and he tried to raise his hooves in a wild attempt to defend himself, but Right outmaneuvered him with ease and seized him by the throat with a cackle before yanking him into the air.

At the same time, Cadence swung her horn towards Left, firing a blast of light into him... and the monster simply ignored it, rushing forwards to grab Cadence by the collar and yank her off her hooves, then step forwards and throw her with that awful, clucking cackle. She flew through the air... only to collide halfway across the room with Shining Armor, who had just been thrown by Right.

The bodies of the two ponies almost tangled together as they spun with each other and then crashed down to the ground in a heap, Shining groaning and Cadence shivering and cursing under her breath before the stallion mumbled: "That does give me an idea though."

Cadence looked up at this with a frown, and then she winced when Shining Armor hauled himself up to his hooves, her body atop his own before he leaned back and seized her. And Cadence's wings opened on their own as she realized all too clearly what he meant to do, before the unicorn leaned forwards with a grunt and flung the mare forwards as hard as he could.

The armored mare smashed into Left and drove the monster crashing backwards into the wall, leaving cracks in the stone as her rear hooves swung down and smashed into the creature's stomach. Left retched loudly as its head fell back, eyes seeming to bulge before it coughed something up and out of its jaws... and on instinct more than anything else, Cadence swung a hoof forwards and drove the glittering piece of mirror the monster had coughed out into the wall, shattering it into dust.

The monster beneath her screamed and flailed wildly, knocking her crashing backwards with a cry of pain before she rolled backwards as Shining Armor looked past her in shock, and then Cadence's eyes widened as Right leapt at the unicorn's exposed back. And in that moment, she reacted on instinct, doing the only thing she could think of: she hammered Shining Armor with a telekinetic blast that knocked him crashing backwards into Right.

The two rolled together, both disoriented before the heavier unicorn landed on top of the charred monster, and Shining Armor winced before he leapt backwards, flicking his horn to tear his sword free from the monster's chest. It twitched once before beginning to calmly sit up... and then Shining Armor snapped his sword down, and there was a distinct crackle as the blade ripped through the monster's stomach and whatever was hidden inside it.

Right screamed and flailed at the air, but he was pinned to the ground by the sword as Shining Armor breathed hard, shaking his head out and gritting his teeth as the beast finally stiffened and fell still. The white unicorn closed his eyes and hung his head a bit, breathing slowly in and out before he looked over his shoulder at Cadence as the rosy mare approached, asking him with soft amusement: "Haven't we discussed picking me up and throwing me at things in the past?"

"Well, you always seem to like it, Cadence, whatever you say afterwards." Shining Armor reasoned as he turned around, and the mare began to smile, began to shake her head... and then her expression froze on her face, and a shiver passed through her body as she looked towards the double doors at the back of the room.

A moment later, Shining Armor felt it too: the malice, the dark presence, the... emptiness. He gritted his teeth as he flicked his horn, yanking the sword free from the charred corpse and stepping protectively in front of Cadence, even as the mare whispered: "No. No, don't."

But then her eyes were drawn back to the doors as they rumbled slowly open, her breath catching in her throat, her body trembling as her mouth worked silently for a moment before the thing that was emitting that awful presence made its way into the room. At first, neither pony recognized the creature that stood before them: impossibly, he looked like another winged unicorn. He was dressed in armor more ceremonial and ornamental than it was real, designed with spikes and blades to make him all the more intimidating. Veins visibly pulsed through his sallow features, and his eyes were closed tightly and sunken in his head, his mane hanging raggedly over half his face... but then his awful, animal eyes opened, and Cadence recognized the orange, curved standing from the creature's head.

"Sombra..." Cadence whispered, and Sombra chuckled quietly. His eyes glowed with greenish hell, red irises locked on her as dark violent energy streamed around his features, bleeding his hatred, his malice, his evil into the air. "No... no, no, you..."

"You thought they defeated me? No, no, no. Yes, I've been... near and far, but you can't erase me that easily." Sombra said softly through the mouth of the Pegasus he had taken over, and Shining Armor snarled before the tall creature – _monster_ – stepped forwards as his eyes locked on Cadence, whispering: "But you. You set my plans back. You got in my way. And you hold a special place in my heart..."

"You don't have a heart!" Cadence snapped, and Sombra only chuckled, smiling coldly as he reached up and touched his armored chest.

"Perhaps not. After all the time that's passed and the problems you and these ponies have given me, after all the time spent... decaying... I've been forced to sink so low I had to take over a living host. But to take revenge on you, right under Celestia's nose? It's worth it." Sombra leaned forwards, baring sharp teeth at them as his eyes glowed a little brighter, and then he clutched at his head as a shiver ran through him, veins pulsing visibly as his tones became more animal, less-sentient: "Kill... the... girl..."

"You won't touch her!" Shining Armor snapped, stepping forwards as he leveled the sword at the dark entity, and Sombra's lucidity seemed to return as an irritated look passed over the possessed pony's features. "You won't escape this time, Sombra, there's-"

"Be quiet." Sombra flicked a hoof, and Shining Armor winced and leapt backwards when a spike of black crystal jutted suddenly out of the ground towards the ivory unicorn, before it vanished into smoke as Sombra looked at them with a cold smile. "Go ahead, kill this body. But darkness is eternal. Darkness is power. Darkness sweeps over everything, and no matter how bright your light shines, one day the darkness will muffle it and consume it."

He breathed quietly, then licked his lips slowly as his horn glowed and he glanced over his shoulder, and two jagged pieces of broken mirror floated out of the doorway, glimmering darkly. Shining Armor's eyes widened, and then he began to leap forwards... but with a flick of one hoof, both Shining Armor and Cadence were driven backwards by a wave of force and the lanterns around the room were all extinguished, leaving them in complete darkness.

A sick sound of flesh tearing filled the air... and then, one-by-one, the lanterns burst into eerie green fire, filling the room with poisonous life as the same sepulchral radiance filled the doorway behind Sombra. And Shining Armor snarled and looked back and forth at the sight of Left and Right: the monsters were back on their hooves, and Sombra simply chuckled before he turned calmly around, heading for the doorway.

Cadence felt something inside her rise up and seize the controls for a moment, felt her body fill with fire before she lunged into the air before she even knew what she was doing, tackling Sombra from behind and knocking them both rolling through the doorway as the monstrous stallion gave a roar of surprise and anger. They bounced together several times, then flung each other away, both landing and skidding backwards on their hooves.

Shining Armor immediately ran for the foot of the steps, then winced and skidded to a halt when Left and Right leapt in front of him, turning their deathless grins on him as Left whispered: "_Gnilbis, emit siht yawa teg mih tel t'now ew_."

"_Yawa teg t'now eh. Gnilbis, emit siht ton_." rasped the other, and Shining Armor cursed as both Left and Right began to slowly prowl towards him.

"Cadence, if you can hear me..." Shining Armor gritted his teeth, then he straightened and shouted: "I'm going to deal with these guys, you handle Sombra! I know you can do it, Cadence!"

Inside the other room, Cadence smiled faintly at Shining's voice, then she looked quickly back and forth to take in her surroundings as Sombra snarled and rasped: "You challenge me? Stupid girl..."

But the winged unicorn only shook her head shortly before she straightened, her eyes locking with Sombra's as she said quietly: "You don't intimidate me, Sombra. We beat you before. We'll do it again, as many times as it takes, until you're sealed away forever."

But Sombra only gave a short laugh at this, then he gestured coldly around at the gallery hall they stood in: it was enormous and lined with suits of armor all standing at attention, with an ancient throne sitting at one far end. Green, pale fire burned in the braziers that stood between the silent sentinels along the walls, their foul reek and unholy light adding to the pressure Cadence felt on her mind with Sombra's words: "Go ahead. Do it. But with one single touch, I corrupted the leader of a mighty order into a puppet of my will. With a single word, I made that leader turn on Equestria, which the ancient Phoenix Guild used to protect. Your bonds of honor and 'harmony' are a slow death; you should thank me. I'm not like Celestia. I don't draw out suffering and decline over thousands of years.. only a mortal lifetime or two."

Cadence gritted her teeth, and Sombra grinned before his eyes blazed and he roared, sweeping a hoof outwards, and the pink winged unicorn leapt to the side as spikes of black crystal ripped out of the ground where she had been standing a moment before. Then Sombra leaned forwards, snapping his horn down to unleash a blast of dark fire, but Cadence smoothly threw herself into a dive, passing just beneath this before she hauled herself forwards and flung herself towards the monster as her wings flapped hard at the same time, swinging out a hoof to smash into Sombra's face and sending him staggering with a cry of shock and pain.

Shining Armor was fighting hard against Left and Right, but the paralleled monstrosities seemed to have learned from their last encounter... and worse, Shining had managed to almost gut one, and found no trace of any mirror shard inside its stomach.

He swung his sword out to block a swing of a hoof, knocking Right staggering before Left plowed into Shining Armor's side with its head and tore upwards, stump of horn ripping agonizingly against his side. The white unicorn howled as he was hefted into the air before Right jumped forwards and slammed into him with enough force to send the stallion flying across the room, hitting the floor and skidding on his wounded side, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

He cursed and shoved himself to his hooves, breathing hard as Left and Right gave their awful, clucking cackle, and then one suddenly sprinted straight forwards as the other leapt upwards, hooves hammering against the wall and propelling it forwards. Shining Armor winced as he did the only thing he could, pouring most of the strength he had left into a barrier spell as both monsters lunged at him.

They both crashed into the sapphire wall that formed, Left's head twisting awkwardly and Right scrabbling wildly near the top of the slanted wall before it fell backwards and crashed down on top of its sibling. They both flailed violently for a moment at each other, and Shining cursed as he let the barrier drop before leaping to his hooves... and his eyes widened before he flicked his horn upwards and sent a bolt of magic into the lantern mounted on the wall above the creatures.

It shattered and half-fell, not tearing completely free of the wall, but vomiting burning oil and and green flame out over the creatures. At first, Shining Armor grinned... and then he only winced when the two monsters gurgled, then cackled, slowly clawing their way up to their hooves and not seeming to care in the slightest about the malevolent flames now eagerly consuming their already-charred forms.

He winced, only hoping that Cadence was doing better than he was... and the winged unicorn, meanwhile, was leaping back and forth as Sombra flung blasts of dark fire at her and summoned spikes of crystal out of the earth. He was panting heavily, a bit of drool falling from his mouth and eyes glowing brightly, standing safe atop a pillar of black crystal and out of her reach.

She was barely fast enough to avoid the endless barrage of attacks he was flinging at her, and there was no way he'd allow her to take to the air, or even get close to the tower he stood on. He was animal and vicious and unrelenting, and it seemed like the more he used his powers, the more he reverted back to nothing but a force of shadow, something less-than-primal with its need to destroy, destroy, destroy...

It made her think of the Crystal Kingdom... and what had kept Sombra away. What had poisoned him, and destroyed him... and Cadence gritted her teeth, almost throwing the idea way before reminding herself that here she was today, a princess, fighting this monster and trying to save her husband, all because of... "Dammit!"

Cadence dodged another blast of dark flames, then flicked her horn, replying with a volley of her own magic: pinkish bubbles gleamed brightly as they sailed through the air, several hitting the pillar with loud pops, and one striking Sombra squarely in the eye, making him curse and grab at his face as Cadence took a moment of reprieve... before staring as the monster dropped his hooves away from his features, his eye twitching as if there was something stuck in it as he roared: "Your 'love' can't hurt me while I'm in this body!"

He swept a hoof outwards, and Cadence cried out in agony as the ground beneath her erupted in a blast of black crystal, several spikes ripping into one of her wings and the others hammering into her body, throwing her backwards. She crashed down and rolled several times, gasping and cursing under her breath as blood ran through her dented armor.

Slowly, she looked up... and then stared: not at Sombra, but at the pillar of crystal he was standing on. He was grinning in triumph, but didn't seem to realize that where her magic had hit, black crystal had turned to gray, rotting ash, and it was rapidly spreading as the possessed stallion whispered: "Don't worry. It'll be easier for you if you die without knowing your past."

Sombra began to lean forwards... and beneath him, the pillar shattered into ashes and chunks of black stone, the monster yelling in shock as Cadence flung herself up to her hooves with a gasp of pain and snarled, shaking her mane out of her face and running forwards to renew her attack.

The rumble of the crystalline pillar collapsing attracted the attention of Left and Right, who had almost cornered Shining Armor, and the unicorn stallion took the chance to hurriedly blast both burning monsters backwards with a telekinetic hammer before he ran past them, leaping over the lowest risers and dashing for the other side of the room. The monsters were slow to pick themselves up, giving Shining Armor more than enough time to skid around in a circle by his sword and lift it back to a ready position with telekinesis.

He was burnt, bloody, and breathing hard, watching as the two creatures climbed to their hooves... and then Left twitched violently before suddenly starting to look wildly back and forth, and it rasped: "_Gnilbis, ees t'nac I_."

Right hissed low in his throat.. then suddenly twitched as well, grabbing at his features. And Shining Armor's eyes widened as he realized that the eyes of both creatures were now just gaping sockets, wreathing and blinded by the emerald fire slowly consuming them, before Right murmured: "_Ees t'nac I, gnilbis._"

Shining Armor breathed hard, and then his eyes widened as he caught something else: as Right turned his head back and forth, he saw a distinct gleam inside the creature's skull, and the ivory unicorn glanced at his sword before he gritted his teeth. No, he had to make his chance count, and the best way to do that... "Hey, crowbait! I'm right here!"

Both of the creatures looked sharply towards them with their grinning maws, their empty sockets, and the unicorn dropped himself to a ready position before Left and Right charged blindly forwards, sprinting straight at him... and at the last moment, Shining Armor sidestepped smoothly and flicked his horn outwards, stabbing the sword viciously into Right's skull through one of its hollow eyes, and over the crackle of flames and the hammering of hooves, Shining Armor heard the sound of shattering glass.

The unicorn flung himself forwards in a dive as Right threw its head back and screamed, tumbling over with the sword still buried through his head, and the ivory unicorn grinned... then howled in pain when Left leapt onto his back even as its sibling lashed back and forth in its death throes, and Shining Armor felt himself forcibly rolled onto his back as Left twitched and drooled and opened its jaws hungrily.

The stallion swung upwards at the monster, crying out in pain and horror at the green flames he felt licking at his living flesh, at the strength of this awful thing, at the feeling of it pushing down no matter how hard he tried to push back up against it as its hollow eyes glared down at him... and Shining Armor's panic only grew as he saw there was no broken piece of mirror secreted inside its skull. It was somewhere else... and finally, the ivory unicorn managed to bring his rear hooves up and kick the monster as hard as he could in the stomach, at the same time yanking instead of pushing on its shoulders to throw the burning monster over his own head.

He scrambled for his hooves with a curse of pain, smelling his own skin burning, gasping hard and feeling drained... and Cadence wasn't much different. Her teeth were grit, one of her wings was wounded and torn, she could smell her already ripped-and-frazzled locks burning from a near miss of a fireball.

But Sombra was rasping hard, and something was wrong with him. He kept twitching violently, kept gurgling, his eyes were glowing with such awful light and he'd stopped talking. Cadence eyed him warily as the monster almost stumbled when he began to prowl slowly to one side... before grinning suddenly and rasping as he slammed both hooves into the ground.

A rush of black spikes exploded out of the earth in a line, and Cadence swung her horn forwards with a snarl, unleashing a ray of neon pink light in response that neatly tore through the black crystal and reduced it to smoke long before it could touch her, then blasted into Sombra. He staggered backwards from the magic, then howled in fury and frustration, unhurt but enraged as he leapt forwards into a sprint straight at the mare.

Cadence stared in shock, but then leapt forwards as well... and when Sombra clumsily attempted to pounce on her, she neatly stepped backwards and smashed a dropping hook across his features, sending him muzzle-first into the ground. Immediately, he howled in pain... before it turned to a scream when Cadence swung another hoof up and hammered into the orange horn standing out of the possessed pony's forehead.

There was a burst of black blood as it was almost dislodged, and Cadence cried out in agony as she felt awful pain flare through her hoof and along her limb... but Sombra was grabbing at his face, screaming and hissing as blood ran down from where the hoof had been fused into the pony's skull. And Cadence snarled as she saw the vulnerability, and understood the cost... and yet all the same, she ran forwards, lunging towards him-

Sombra looked up as his eyes flashed, and the world went dark before Cadence felt... cold. She realized she was no longer moving... and slowly, as the eerie green light returned, she found herself looking down almost distantly to see the series of crystalline spikes that had torn through her body, holding her aloft. Her blood ran down them slowly, in rivers of red that almost glowed in the shadows, the rose-colored winged unicorn silent as Sombra leaned forwards and whispered: "Mine."

Slowly, she looked up at him, their eyes meeting as Sombra licked his lips hungrily. He drew closer, and she wasn't afraid as she closed her eyes, breathing quietly in and out, letting herself go limp. And thoughts swirled through her mind: Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle, Celestia... others... friends... family... she had all let down.

Her eyes flickered as she felt Sombra's hooves grasp her face eagerly, tilt her head upwards, baring his sharp fangs in a grin... and she reached up and seized his front hooves with a snarl, as her body twitched, and agony helped wash away that numbness, and awaken her determination. Helped remind her of who she was, that she had come this far... and that with love alone she had beaten this monster before.

Sombra snarled up at her, then bit at her like an animal, and Cadence drew her head back before her horn glowed brightly as she focused all the energy she had left into it, before sweeping savagely upwards to smash her horn against Sombra's. Conflicting powers met, and Cadence cried out in agony as she felt like Sombra's dark magic was blasted directly into her brain, while Sombra screamed as all the things he reviled, and feared, and hated, were blasted directly into him... except unlike Cadence's, his body was not his own, and his horn-

The orange, curved horn tore free from the possessed pony's skull with a sickening rip, flying upwards as cracks of light tore through it before it exploded in a tremendous bang, with an awful, forsaken scream, and a moment later the pony body that Sombra had possessed collapsed backwards before exploding as well. Cadence cried out, but there was no time for disgust as Sombra's dark crystal was blasted into nothing but smoke by the wave of force that erupted through the air and whiffed out both dark magic and toxic green fire.

Outside, Left howled in misery as Shining Armor stumbled, then stared in shock as the flames whiffed out and charred skin peeled away to reveal nothing but fragmented, mishmashed glass. Left twisted back and forth, the awful thing cracking itself further with every movement as diamond dust fell from its body, before the ivory unicorn leapt forwards with a roar and slammed a hoof as hard as he could into the creature, and it shattered apart into nothing but fragments with another broken howl.

And as the hideous creature collapsed, Shining Armor looked up as he felt a second wave of force rumble through the air, and he dashed up the stairs even as natural flame rose unbidden in the braziers and the lanterns, as the world settled. Even as everything went right, he felt everything going wrong, as he shouted desperately: "Cadence!"

He stumbled through the doors... and stared in disbelief at the sight of Cadence laying in a pool of her own blood, her eyes closed, shivering weakly, and the ivory unicorn lunged across the gallery, heedlessly charging through ashes and broken debris as he half-fell beside her and grabbed her, rolling her over and whispering: "Cadence... Cadence... no, no, oh... I still... come on, I still haven't... made things up to you for what happened with Chrysalis. I still... what am I supposed to tell Twilight? Cadence, what am I supposed to do... without you? I can't fail you... I... Cadence... please..."

He dropped his head down against hers, trembling, hugging her tightly up against his body... and then he froze, not daring to breathe, not daring to move, as he felt it. The minute shift... the feel of her breath. The movement of her lips against his ear, as she whispered something... and he smiled faintly, closing his eyes and whispering back: "I love you too. I... I got you."

But Cadence was already gone again, faded back into the darkness, into a dream. Into a story she had never been told, but that had everything to do with her... a story that began with 'once upon a time...

_there was a King who was good and benevolent, and beloved by all his people. But his wife had passed away many years ago, and he had no heir. He was afraid for what this would mean for his small but important kingdom. After all, he knew that many other unicorns like himself had fallen to the temptations of evil... and his kingdom was very special, because it reflected the hearts and minds of its ruler, and its people._

_So he prayed, and asked for help, each and every day. He prayed, and prayed, until one day, a shooting star crossed the sky and fell to the earth. And to the King's delight, it was a beautiful baby girl, and he knew this was the answer to his prayers._

_The King loved his daughter. He took her everywhere with him... and he was amazed when this baby, so little and young, showed such a power of love and understanding already. She seemed to drink in the world with her eyes... she seemed to love everyone equally. She was strong and even-tempered, and he knew she would become an even better ruler than he had been._

_As she grew older, he decided to have her trained by his mightiest heroes. At first, some of them scoffed at teaching such a young child, but the King insisted, so they trained her. And to the surprise of the heroes, she learned quickly. But when asked, she never once said that she was learning to fight... she said that she was learning to defend. Her wisdom and skill humbled the mighty heroes, and the King was again delighted with his daughter. And all complemented her natural grace: they began to call her 'Cadence' for the rhythm and skill with which she moved in her training._

_But one day, while out walking by himself, the King found himself being followed by a stranger. He stopped to speak to this stranger, and at first, found himself terrified, for he was faced with a great and terrible dragon. The dragon soothed him, however, saying he meant no harm, before he whispered evil promises to the good and righteous King, of power, and eternity. The King refused, but the dragon spoke of awful evils in the future, and soon enough, the King began to grow unsure of himself._

_And the cunning dragon found the King's weakness, and told him this: 'Reject my offer of power, go ahead: but know then that you will die, and your daughter will be left all alone in the world. The people will be jealous of her, and she will only be a foal, and unable to save your kingdom. Unable to save herself, from the awful evil.'_

_So the King finally asked what the dragon desired in return, and the dragon replied kindly: 'You will owe me one favor in the future, that is all.'_

_The King, foolishly, accepted, and the dragon touched him with a single claw. And it was then, too late, that the King understood he had done something awful, when the dragon vanished, and he felt an awful coldness settle inside him. And even if he found he had powerful new magic, he felt that he was losing something more important than strength alone. _

_For weeks, the King grew worse. He felt awful urges and desires rising up inside him, and a thirst for power. He felt pain when he saw the happiness of others, like it was an insult to him. Only his daughter soothed him. But one day, he found himself lashing out in anger even at his daughter, and it was then the King knew that he had been deceived._

_He returned to the place where he had found the stranger, and the dragon awaited him there. But nothing the King could do could harm or hinder the dragon, who only laughed, and then reminded: 'You owe me one favor, and I have decided the time has come to repay it, King. And the favor is this. You will kill your daughter.'_

_And the King knew he could not resist the dragon... but he thought he had one small chance to save everything he cared for. So he begged the dragon to allow him one last night with his daughter, and privacy. The dragon eventually agreed, but only after the King promised to bring him the filly's body as proof._

_The King rushed home, and found his daughter. And he spent the night with her, and during that night, controlled the evil trying to consume him, before he used the very same dark powers the dragon had given him to brew a special potion and a special spell. Before his daughter slept, he gave this to her, placing her in a deathless, ageless slumber, where she would not breathe, not dream, not her heart beat, and yet all the same, she would live. _

_He brought her before the dragon, who saw the filly's pallid cheeks, and that she did not breathe, and that her heart did not beat, and he was satisfied. The dragon left, and the King returned to the Kingdom, and had his daughter placed inside a coffin, and asked his four bravest heroes to take the coffin deep into the unknown, and to bury it, but shallowly, and swore them to never return to the kingdom, and never tell anyone of where they buried this most sacred of treasures._

_They did so, and the King lived only one more sunset, before all that he was died... and instead, his body became ruled by a raw and evil power who was the opposite of the good king, and destroyed everything that the king had worked for..._

and it ended, in darkness.

* * *

Cadence shifted uneasily in bed, then she blinked blearily before opening her eyes... and smiled faintly at the sight of Shining Armor leaning over her, the stallion breathing out a sigh of relief as he squeezed one of her hooves tightly in both his own. "I... I thought... I was worried that..."

"I know, Shine. I'm okay." Cadence closed her eyes, then she reached up and brushed at her torn mane before grimacing a little, feeling a spark of pain when she sat up. Slowly, she looked around the room, and realized after a moment she was at home, and this was their bedroom.

She licked her lips slowly: her mouth was dry, her throat hurt, and her eyes ached, like... like she had maybe been crying in her sleep. She shook her head a bit, and then glanced up at Shining Armor, asking quietly: "How long has it been?"

"A few days... three now, I think." Shining Armor glanced towards the shuttered window, and Cadence followed his gaze, smiling a little at the sunlight streaming quietly in. "Celestia, Luna, and Twilight have all been here... a few others, too."

Cadence smiled at this, looking up at her husband, and he gazed back before they leaned towards one another and traded a fierce, tight embrace. For a few moments, they only held onto one-another, and the only sound was birdsong before Cadence closed her eyes and allowed herself to slip back into bed.

She rested quietly on the mattress, then looked up at the ceiling and murmured softly: "I need to talk to Celestia at some point, Shining Armor. I... I understood something. I'm not meant to be a princess. Oh, I know, I like it, and it fits me, but... I think I'm here for a different reason. I think... I have a different purpose. And I'd like to go back to the Crystal Kingdom, Shining Armor... if I do, will... will you come with me?"

"You know you don't even have to ask." Shining Armor said softly, and Cadence smiled over at him before he added: "But... you need bedrest right now, okay? All this... it can wait a little while. Give it time to sink in, don't just go running off. You've been happy... not showing off those skills of yours, right? I mean, I thought you were... embarrassed about that side of you, honey."

"I..." Cadence reached up, touched her face, thought of her name... and then she shook her head slowly and smiled again, closing her eyes and murmuring: "You know what? I think you're right about one thing... let's not think about it too much yet. This... this is just the beginning, after all. And I know we're far away from the end yet. Just... stick with me until we get there, okay?"

"Always, Cadence." Shining Armor said softly, and then he slipped forwards onto the bed, and Cadence closed her eyes as they wrapped their forelegs around one another and held each other close, curling up together in the soft comfort that was all Cadence wanted to think about and experience with so much ringing around in her mind... but all of it made unimportant with the comfort she could always find with Shining Armor by her side, and the love that kept her heart warm.


End file.
